The Dutchess And The Duke | Fergus And Geronimo | Greg Ashley (Rubber Gloves) Another band in a seemingly never ending line of artist trying to put their spin on the eternally idolized early to mid sixties blues tinged rock and roll. The songs are short, loose but focused; leaving no breathing room in their albums short running time. D&D believe enough in the power of mid 60's bluesy rock n' roll and aren't afraid to use it with out apologizes. But when it comes down to it, it's not 1969 and we have seen numerous revivals and they aren't bring much new to the table. While not particularly inspired, the music comes from a honest place which no doubt resonates with it's fans. I might take a listen if they ever move on to their Goats Head Soup faze, but as of now it's nothing that we haven't heard before. Fergus and Geronimo who follow the same hero worship musical tendencies, but with their eyes toward early Beach Boys pop. They also seem to be better at reinterpreting the styles they love as oppose to simply recreating them. (FP)
Farah | Blixaboy | DJ G (Fallout Lounge) t's easy to dismiss Farah as a train wreck waiting to happen. Or maybe a train that has already derailed. Her makeup is always a little off, her second hand designer clothes hanging off her pale flesh, the one note beats that haze through the air and that...voice. It is hard to tell where exactly Farah is coming from with her art, but the consistency in her performance leads me to believe she knows exactly what she is doing. And if she doesn't, she sure doesn't give a shit what you think about it.
Much has been made of her association and work with Italians do it Better label and more specifically Johnny Jewel from who has produced a couple of her tracks, and while that music is great I believe it is her live performance where she really shines. I have followed Farah awhile and it's been quite the trip to see her opening for Glass Candy, covering their songs before they go on then later be featured on the Italians do it Better comp and now on to wherever the heck she might end up next. While she is not going to win any American Idol competitions, Farah is a fantastic, albeit unconventional performer. She has the gift of non-nonchalance that keeps some of the audience questioning with intrigue what exactly it is they are witnessing while the rest of the crowd might be laughing at her. I have a feeling that is what she wants, and I know that's what I want. The line between the artist and the art is definitely blurred here, but if you spend too much time focusing on the "honesty" of her performance you will be missing the point.
If you don't like watching performers answer their phones or put on make-up while performing then this show may not be for you. Someone should invite Eric Keyes to see what he thinks about it. The scarcity of her performances is also one of the exciting things about her, so be sure not to miss this one, because who's know when the next one will be. DJG will be spinning between sets, and he's the best DJ in the area for people are into music but not necessarily into DJs. Local electronically gifted and cool band shirt owning act Blixaboy rounds out this solid night in big D. (FP)
SATURDAY
Hot Flash 3 Year Anniversary Party: Duey FM, Neiliyo, Richard Henry, Killtron, Schwa, Genova (Fallout Lounge) Wow, so Hot Flash has been going on for three years now? Really? I'll be the first to admit that for the better part of the last year I lived in Dallas, I sort of started to lose track of the local hipster dance scene after almost every single one of the 8 million weekly and monthly DJ parties popping up around town started filling up with the kind of douchebag element that I started hanging out in East Dallas to escape from in the first place. This isn't a critique of the organizers or DJs involved with these parties at all, and as a matter of fact, its probably more a reflection of their successes than their failures. It's now safe to say that DJ Nature's second tenure at Rubber Gloves in early 2006 was the beginning of a very noticeable transformation of Dallas and Denton nightlife. Nature was the first DJ in the metroplex (h8 that word), as far as I know, who was keeping up with everything that was going on in international dance music from San Juan to Berlin to New York, and he was the first to realize that it was ok to play M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, a Smiths song and a straight up dance hall single back to back to back to back, setting the foundation in the area for the genre jumping sound that is taken for granted almost every night in places like Hailey's, Fallout Lounge and, gulp, Ghost Bar. The formula sounds simple enough, but trust me, the wasteland that was Dallas dance music back in 2006 was sorely lacking a DJ with Nature's sensibilities. Later that same year, Nature joined DJs Sober and Select to start the monthly Party events at Zubar, and most of you probably know where it goes from there-- soon enough, it seemed like the whole city was trying to get into Zubar each time the trio played, and after their success was eventually noticed by the Dallas Morning News, Observer, Star Telegram and other mainstream local media outlets, dozens and dozens of similar events started popping up all over the place and getting quite popular with folks on both sides of Central Expressway, leading us to where we are today-- the once underground community surrounding the Party and associates has reached relative mainstream acceptance amongst local dance music fans of all stripes. Anyway, Hot Flash was right up there with the Party amongst the pioneers of this miniature local movement, and for anyone to do anything for three years in Dallas is quite impressive, and a testament to the abilities and track selections of the DJs as well as the collectively friendly vibe this night has always exuded, and they deserve to be recognized for it. (SR)
Dave Burrell (Sandaga Market located at 1325 E. Levee St. in Dallas, TX) Presented by Inner Realms/Outer Realms, the show organizing entity run by Aaron Gonzalez. Acclaimed free jazz pianist, liked mostly by people who actually like music and write for highbrow magazines. I mean in that in the best possible way. Breath of fresh air around here to have a show like this. (DL)
Video | True Widow | The River Mouth (606 Congress In Denton) It would be stupid not to attend this if you're in Denton. Video features Harpal Assi aka Bad Lieutenant, who is a fantastic bass player. (DL)
SUNDAY
Nitzer Ebb (Lizard Lounge) British industrial pioneers Nitzer Ebb are one of those groups that has been much more influential than most people realize, playing a role in bridging the gap between early electronic dance, rough early industrial and late 80's house/pop dance music, a mixture that would go on to form the basis for a great deal of extremely popular music in the 1990s (see everything from Nine Inch Nails to the Prodigy to White Zombie to KMFDM). With influences ranging from 70's German group DAF to early Human League to Cabaret Voltaire, Nitzer Ebb began with a rather harsh and mechanized (bordering on militant) take on industrial but always incorporated elements of dance music that had largely been absent from early industrial experimentation, pushing their material closer and closer to pop viability without ever really compromising anything. Essentially, instead of moving away from their harsher roots, they made it more acceptable for the dancefloor to welcome such harsh, aggressive sounds, delivering some pretty dark tracks to a much wider audience than anyone could have probably expected even a couple years before the release of their excellent 1987 debut full length, That Total Age. Seeing these legends at Lizard Lounge will likely present its own set of challenges, but if I were in Dallas this weekend it would still be at the top of my weekend musical priorities list. (SR)
Admittedly, I'm not very good at analysis and criticism. Under my tutelage, this Art List has been a little weak, blandly aggregational, and featuring some really piss poor interviews! But I'm pretty good at organizin' stuff. So, I'm trying to get some outside help to make this We Shot Jr feature better. In the next few weeks, you will also be reading some content from a person representing the Mid-Cities / Fort Worth side of our Metroplex, and his/her special name is going to be: Sandy Corn-Hall.
But I need your help, too! If you or someone you know has hard-hitting art opinions to express, or the desire to develop some while documenting the Dallas / Fort Worth art scene, would you please have them squirt a little email over to artnews@weshotjr.com?
The only thing really going on this weekend is Art Conspiracy. The challenge to the artist at this event is to paint a painting on plywood in sub-freezing temperatures in less than 2.5 hours' time. This happens on the annual Friday night painting event (it's closed to the public). Then on Saturday night all the somewhat-crippled paintings are auctioned off to support a local charity. This year's beneficiary is Resolana TX. Resolana is a pretty incredible organization, they are "a community-based nonprofit organization that provides holistic, gender-sensitive, rehabilitative programming for incarcerated women" in North Texas.
So, Art Conspiracy is happening on Saturday at 7PM. Come spend your Christmas gift money here. There are also a bunch of musical acts playing. I bet DL will cover that tomorrow. Maybe go beforehand to see the opening at Barry Whistler. It's called "Snow White" and runs from 6-8PM, at 2909-B Canton Street, Dallas, Tx 75226.
Have a good weekend, Richardson Heights
The image is taken from Resolana TX's flickr stream of art created by inmates.
Hey there-- Although you might doubt us, I wanted to let everyone know that we're working on a bunch of different things these days, including the expansion of the site that I alluded to in a post several weeks ago. We don't see any of this being implemented until some time in January, but the good news for now is that we do have quite a bit planned for our year end coverage this month, including a boat load of local album reviews that we didn't get around to this year, which is pretty much all of them. Anyway, we have received a lot of your CDs and album download links over the past few months, but if you haven't sent us your album yet and would like it reviewed (or you think we might have lost track of your original submission), please email your download link to weshotjr@gmail.com and clearly label the album title, artist name and any additional information you would like us to have (album art would be nice). If you send your album to us, we're going to try as hard as we possibly can to include it in our year end coverage, which will start popping up here in the next week or two. Thanks. (SR)
Ishi | Yeah Def | Fizzy Dino Pop | Kashioboy | Sore Losers | Whoa! Coder (Hailey's) So you say you're sick of all that country folk Americana bullshit that seems so ubiquitous these days? Well, I wouldn't expect to see too many classical acoustic guitars tonight at Hailey's, and you might even encounter some ethnic diversity (Whoa!). This show is serving as a release party for Fizzy Dino Pop's latest E.P. which I am assuming will be available there for purchase. FDP mastermind Avery Williamson has recently gone from screaming over his music to having very lovely female vocals compliment his sugary brand of electro-pop. Although I'm sure some of his old school fans might be disappointed, I think it sounds pretty nice. Speaking of semantics, is it really J-Pop if it is conceived and recorded in In Texas? There are plenty of acts in the area and nation wide working in the same sonic realm, but I don't think I have heard the term thrown around to describe domestic artists. Seems like calling Deerhoof J-indie or something.
Kashioboy has been creating 8-bit music for the past couple years but just recently began incorporating live vocals and musical ideas beyond reworking Koji Kondo tunes. Kashioboy main man Chris still uses the "8 bit" sound (most of his music is composed on modified Nintendo Gameboys and DSs) but his songs have progressed into more main stream territory. Check I Must Say or Tortues on his Myspace for example. I have heard a thousand 8 bit covers but still got a little chill down my neck when hearing this re-imagining for the first time the other day.
This will be my first time to see Ishi play live. For some reason I don't seem to frequent the same establishments as these guys, but none the less, I have been curious as to what all the hub bub is bout. Preliminary listening reveals the same hazy quality of the sound that is all the rage now, but without any kind of stamp or personality to make it stand out. Their music definitely caters to the Peter, Bjorn and John crowd. Coming off as dreamy and unoffensive, I would not be afraid to book them for my daughter's birthday party at all. Perhaps some grand personality will emerge on the stage that catch me off guard, but for now, I can't tell if the banality of their Myspace page is an attempt to be kitschy, ironic, streamlined, or if they're just boring people. Listening to the music on said page, I'm gonna guess the latter. Luckily they play last so I can leave if it blows.
Dallas hip-hop duo Sore Losers are also on the lineup and taking a quick spin of the stuff on their site makes it seem like the show should be a lot of fun. Much better than the once a year rap CD I buy from the dudes hustling outside of the gas station I buy smokes at on my way into Dallas. Great night all around, we'll see how Ishi fairs, but to top it all of it's free so it sounds pretty appetizing to me.(FP)
Disqo Disco (Fallout Lounge) According to Twitter, Red Sean might be playing some of the stuff he had planned on using for the Black Friday event, and he should be a little more optimistic about the turnout.
90's Night With Yeah Def (Hailey's) Here's a sample of what you can expect from Yeah Def tonight, who is celebrating the one year anniversary of this increasingly popular weekly: Ghost Town DJs, Britney, BSB, Snoop Dogg, Souls of Mischief, Seal, Toni Braxton, Cocteau Twins, AC/DC, Stone Temple Pilots, Paul johnson, Toybox, Daft Punk, R. Kelly, Aaliyah, Nirvana, Ace Of Base, Korn, Cypress Hill, Selena, Black And White Brothers... Everything from east/west rivalry hardcore hip-hop to homoerotic house (like that alliteration???).
Just the usual tonight, unless you're into ultra-corporate pop-punk. That's not fair actually, some of you really are, even those of you whose taste I really respect. You know who's really good? The Fleetwoods. So timeless. I could listen to this all day, and sometimes I do. There is something really beautifully eerie and lonely in the recordings. Especially coupled with the All-American cookie cutter image. And just check out that album cover. I have this thing at home and the colors are unbelievable. Anyways, here's their a capella version of "Unchained Melody." Have a good evening.
I made a huge mistake, so Frank Phosphate and I wrote about some of the same shows, however our opinions differ a little. Imagine that. Unfortunately, it prevented me personally from saying more about other stuff. Sorry. Especially about the punk shows and the show at eXcuses. Next time.
Also there is a Day Bow Bow show at The Handsome Kitten tonight, featuring The Kris Special, Baruch The Scribe, and Emily Stoker among others. Should have mentioned that. -DL
FRIDAY
Bill Callahan | Lights | Neal Morgan (The Granada) By dropping the Smog moniker, Callahan's music has opened up to new and exciting places. I have always been a fan of Smog's songwriting, I have always enjoyed his albums, especially those produced with Jim O' Rourke. But I REALLY liked Woke on a Whaleheart. It had playfulness, not just in the songwriting, but also the music, that I saw has a big step in the right direction after the string of solid but similar-sounding albums. Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, Callahan's most recent album, and the second to don the Callahan name, delves back into the darker lyrical territory of his previous work, but with production values far cleaner than those early 4-track recordings.
Bill's dark sense of humor and curmudgeon demeanor definitely make for an entertaining live performance. While sarcastic and moody, his performance never seems forced or labored. You can tell that he is having a good time, however is not afraid to make a snide comment to a rude fan if he so pleases. (FP)
Good looking out on Bill Callahan's part in getting the excellent musicians from the horrifically underrated Austin act, Horse Plus Donkey, to back him up, and hopefully they'll be in tow tonight. Fellow Drag City residents Lights will also perform, and I enjoyed the one track I've heard by them, kind of like Glass Candy if they combined their Italians Do It Better disco with their early rocked out style. Really nice, dry production and not bad at all. You really have to give Drag City credit for keeping everyone guessing for decades now. (DL)
Vic Chesnutt | Liz Durrett | Sans Soleil (Hailey's) Lucky night in North Texas for flagship indie singer-songwriter fans this Friday. Two of the longest lasting and well respected figures in said genre will be gracing us with their collectively dour presence Friday night. There is a lot to respect Vic Chesnutt for as an artist. His resilience in the music business despite many near-fame misses and his willingness to collaborate with a diverse and ever changing group of artists has kept him in the hearts and minds of modern troubadour followers.
There is no doubt that Chesnutt has a lyrical presence. His Flannery O'Connor-by-way of-Springsteen lyrical style has given him a small but devoted following for the twenty-some-odd years in the business. Chesnutt utilizes an emotional directness in his words and music that doesn't necessarily work for me. I have always enjoyed the artier side of songwriting, as opposed to the confessional laments. I know that there are some listeners that feed off that emotional directness, but it bores me fairly quickly. As opposed to someone like Bill Callahan, who definitely does not sing about sunshine and flowers yet still delivers the same sense of weariness that Vic is going for.
I have seen Chesnutt perform three times, and the only one that I honestly enjoyed was the show he played alongside Elf Power in support of Dark Developments, which I believe to be his best album. The other two times I wanted to lay on the floor and take a nap in the club. Speaking of which, that's the same feeling I have gotten from standing through two sets by Denton post-rockers San Soleil. San Soleil create what I believe to be one of the most boring and self indulgent musical forms ever, and yet both times I have seen them, the crowd has been jam-packed and really into the music. Sometimes I just don't get stuff I guess. (FP)
Everyone's talking about Guy Picciotto and Thee Silver Mt. Zion playing on the new Vic Chesnutt record, and though I was skeptical at first, the tracks I heard on NPR's Fresh Air earlier this week were a pleasant surprise. The music was pretty brooding and building, more reminiscent of TSMZ than any DC Dischord rock, with uncomfortably honest lyrics about the death of Chesnutt's mother and love letters to suicide. Sounds bad on paper, but a compelling execution nonetheless. (DL)
Division Of Power | Collick | Lunae Nemoris | Abuse Tactics (207 Pine St. In Arlington): There may or may not be a keg involved if you're into that. Abuse Tactics includes members of Ascites performing music that is "dark" and "loud," which isn't surprising at all if you click on that link. (DL)
Theatre Gallery/Prophet Bar Reunion: Shallow Reign | Decadent Dub Team | Loco Gringos | Cathouse | The Trees | Bat Mastersons and more (The Prophet Bar) This large and lofty event is going to occupy two rooms of the Prophet Bar, aiming to bring together a lot of the key figures of Deep Ellum's near-mythical past, and since I'm mainly familiar with the hearsay of ex-Deep Ellum scene types more than anything else, it's probably best for me to let the man behind the project describe the event in his own words, the very outspoken Jeff Liles. Before I do that though, I want to mention that SR and I recently had a discussion about how Decadent Dub Team got totally screwed by the All Music Guide. Happens to the best of them, Liles, don't sweat it. I'm looking forward to see what happens with the Kessler Theater Project in Oak Cliff. From the invite:
A reunion gathering for people who were part of the Theatre Gallery/Prophet Bar music and art scene in Deep Ellum during the mid-to-late 80's. The roster of touring acts that played at the Theatre Gallery reads like an alternative rock "Hall of Fame": Bad Brains, The Replacements, Husker Du, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flaming Lips, Scratch Acid, Meat Puppets, Butthole Surfers, The Smithereens, Jane's Addiction, Suicidal Tendencies, Sandra Bernhard, Henry Rollins, True Believers and 10,000 Maniacs were all featured performers.
Local acts like New Bohemians, The Buck Pets, Rev. Horton Heat, Rigor Mortis, Three On A Hill, End Over End, Shallow Reign, Decadent Dub Team, Loco Gringos, T42, Course of Empire, Mel Coolies, Peyote Cowboys, The Daylights and The Trees all established loyal followings.
Bands booked for the upcoming "Full Circle" event include: Shallow Reign, Decadent Dub Team, Loco Gringos, Cathouse, The Trees, Bat Mastersons, Cricket Taylor, Chris Savage, Graceland, Plumbrella, and many others. Louder bands will play in the big room, solo artists and acoustic performers will play in the front room at Prophet Bar. Everybody will get a chance to get on the mic for a minute and tell their favorite Theatre Gallery story.
Pre-sale tickets are ten dollars, 15 at the door. Doors are at six. We want you to bring your kids. "Full Circle" is a reference to a "a passing of the torch" to the next generation of Dallas musicians.
Shiny Around The Edges | Dust Congress | The Kris Special (Dust Congress House) There is a lot of diversity between performance spaces, aka houses, around the Denton DIY community. There are homes that seem like they stepped out of some punk rock John Hughes movie; the capacity for people and great performance space would make one think the place was leased solely for the purpose of booking shows. A great example of this would be the awesome Lion's Den. Then there are places where you feel slightly uneasy due to the "intimate" nature of the space. The Dust Congress house would be one of those places. This is not a bad thing at all, I have seen a couple great shows there and socialized with some very nice people, but it can be a little awkward standing the middle of some ones living room trying not to spill beer on a couch, staring at dirty laundry while waiting for the music to start. I would say that the capacity for this place is about ten people but each show I have seen there is at least quadruple that amount.
Shiny Around the Edges has been on a bit of a hiatus these past few months, so hopefully this marks a return for them to the realm of live performance. I have not seen Dust Congress since the departure of bassoonist Tara Wood, and let's hope the boys can make up for feminine mystique that she brought to the group. Should be a great show all around, just be prepared for the possibility of a pitch black performance if the neighbors call the cops and they start to roll by. Also there is going to be a cookout before the show. Good Ol' Denton. (FP)
Hex Dispensers | Deathray Davies | Occult Detective Club (Double Wide): Why did I not hear of this show until today? By the way, did The Deathray Davies get more experimental, or is the stuff on their Myspace page just playing at the wrong speed? Both? (DL)
The Sneaks | Mudpuppies | Kampfgrounds | Power Nap (920 Bolivar St.) I was laughing pretty hard when I was looking up the info to this Facebook show invite and caught the amazing pic you see above. The invite went further to assure us that "Furio won't be able to make it," since "he wants to have sex with Carmella in the 5th season." Funny, I could have sworn it was the the third. Glad to see that Facebook is slowly but surely turning into the irreverently comedic show flier ghetto that Myspace started off as. Could the end be far behind? (DL)
Record Swap (The Lounge) Great idea. This ultra-inclusive event encourages you to bring your records and sell them, swap them, or buy them from other collectors, DJ's, producers etc. Sounds good. I hope there isn't an overabundance of CCCP records, that old Dallas vinyl standby. (DL)
